Heather Graham Opens Up About Filming Her First-Ever Nude Scene In ‘Boogie Nights’: “It Was Terrifying”

Heather Graham revealed she was “so nervous” to shoot her first-ever nude scene for the 1997 film Boogie Nights.

The Oscar-nominated film from Paul Thomas Anderson tells the story of L.A. busboy Eddie Adams’ (Mark Wahlberg) rise to fame as a porn star with the help of adult filmmaker Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds). In a recent interview with Yahoo!, Graham reflected on some of her biggest roles including Rollergirl, a porn star known for performing with roller skates on.

“That was my first time [doing a nude scene], and I was so nervous about it. But at that point in my career I was also like, ‘Beggars can’t be choosers,'” she recalled. “It was a great script and Paul was an amazing talent. I had a great time making that movie even though it was terrifying doing a nude scene.”

Though she didn’t mention if Wahlberg had the same trepidation about appearing nude in the film, she did say he was wearing a prosthetic in his full-frontal nude scenes.

“He’s wearing a fake penis, so it’s not exactly the same,” Graham said.

That wasn’t the only fear she had to overcome to play Rollergirl. The actress also had to learn how to roller skate.

“I didn’t know how to roller skate when I got that job; I had to take lessons,” Graham recalled. “It was a little bit terrifying, because there were all these cables around on set and you had to go around stairs and stuff. The girl that was my stand-in bit it a couple of times!”

Graham has enjoyed a decades-long career starring in popular films like The Hangover and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, but she recently admitted to feeling like “a supporting character” in an industry full of male-led stories.

“It’s still pretty sexist, to be honest. Every phase of the business, whether it’s financing, distribution, the reviewers, all those people are mostly men,” she recently told People. “To get a female driven story that is appealing mostly to women through all these levels of male dominated business, it’s not that easy.”

Graham made her directorial debut in 2018 with romantic comedy Half Magic starring Angela Kinsey and Stephanie Beatriz. Her sophomore feature Chosen Family, starring Julia Stiles, is set to begin filming later this year.

Graham’s latest movie On A Wing And A Prayer is now streaming on Prime Video.